New pair Tang Jie-Clarissa enter second round of China Open

 The unranked Malaysians were teaming up for only the second time.

Chen Tang Jie and Clarissa San showed marked improvement after their first-round defeat in the Japan Open last week. (BAM pics)

PETALING JAYA:

Newly paired mixed doubles shuttlers Chen Tang Jie-Clarissa San made a breakthrough in the China Open by defeating Germany’s world No 32 pair Mervin Seidel-Nguyen Thuc Phuong in their opening round match today.

After suffering a first-round defeat at the Japan Open last week, Tang Jie-Clarissa showed marked improvement to win 21-17, 21-19 in 36 minutes at the Olympic Sports Centre Gymnasium in Changzhou.

A Herculean task awaits the unranked Malaysians in the last-16 tomorrow when they face China’s world No 2 pair Jiang Zhen Bang-Wei Ya Xin.

Tang Jie’s regular partner, Toh Ee Wei, with whom he won the World Championships last year, will be out of action for a few months after undergoing knee surgery.

Tang Jie-Clarissa first played together at the Super 750 Japan Open last week, where they were beaten in the opening round by Taiwan’s world No 20 pair, Yang Po Hsuan-Hu Ling Fang.

In a later match, national men’s doubles shuttlers Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin Rumsani advanced to the second round of the China Open after defeating a Taiwanese pair in three games.

Sze Fei-Izzuddin, ranked sixth in the world, survived a scare before defeating world No 33 pair Chen Zhi Ray-Lin Yu Chieh 15-21, 21-15, 21-16  in a match that lasted 51 minutes.

The Malaysians, who were eliminated in the opening round last year, will face Danish world No 16 pair Daniel Lundgaard-Mads Vestergaard in the last 16. - FMT